“Le Grand Meaulnes” is the only novel published by Alain-Fournier in 1913 when he was twenty-seven years old. A year later he was killed in the First World War. It tells the story of the arrival of a young Augustin Meaulnes at a village school in Sainte-Agathe in France. He boards with the head-master’s family, and the narrator of the book is the head-master’s son, François Seurel. It is a portrayal of adolescence when the imagination of childhood begins to embrace the realities of the adult world. What happens belongs to the two spheres, and is told here years later by François. Into it he pours his nostalgia for what is gone, regret for what was lost, and his memories of his fellow student and companion, Augustin Meaulnes, and the beautiful Yvonne de Galais. In this unique translation Jennifer Hashmi has adhered to the narrative poetic style of the original, and has respected Alain-Fournier’s frequent use of the ellipse which hints at more than he can say, and allows readers to intuit the rest. Thus the mysterious haunting quality of the novel is preserved. Students should find this translation most helpful in in that it carries with it not only the meaning of the text but also the atmosphere and emotion of the original work. However, whether student or not, this is a novel which has captivated readers for nearly a century as it presents the apparently everyday world through the eyes of François the dreamer, and Meaulnes the adventurer, both seeking the ultimate happiness they believe is waiting for all who dare. Cover Image “Le Grand Meaulnes était myope” by francis ledoux under Creative Commons License.
